BOONE, N.C. – Waking up in a hotel less than 25 miles from the ESPN set in Atlanta,
Noah Hannon had a different perspective of "College GameDay."
In the bigger picture, the true freshman was finally part of the show.
Hannon started at center in his first college game last weekend, earning praise from coaches and teammates alike for how he handled himself in Appalachian State's 31-10 loss at No. 15 Georgia. The game was played in front of 92,746 fans in Sanford Stadium and a national television audience on ESPN, which airs its popular "GameDay" program each Saturday morning.
"It was something I looked forward to my whole life, the dream of playing college football," Hannon said. "To wake up as a kid and watch 'College GameDay,' then you're waking up in a hotel and watching 'College GameDay' and they're talking about a game I was actually about to play in that night, that was pretty dang cool.
"To walk out there in front of 93,000 people and play a football game against a very good team, that was something I'll never forget. The whole trip I took every experience in, from the meals to the bus ride."
This weekend will mark the home debut for Hannon and his classmates. Appalachian State (0-1) faces Savannah State (0-0) at 3:30 p.m. in a "Gold Out" game at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The 2007 team that upset Michigan and claimed a third straight FCS national championship will be honored Saturday. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Hannon was 8 years old when the Mountaineers won in "The Big House," and he'll turn 19 later this month.
Joined by receivers
Thomas Hennigan and
Malik Williams, Hannon was one of three true freshmen to start for App State's offense at Georgia. The Mountaineers last had a true freshman start at that position in 2011, when Alex Acey won the job as a first-year walk-on.
"Noah did an excellent job for the first time playing center," co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach
Shawn Clark said. "No. 1, he took care of the football. That was big to go into the game and protect the football. No. 2, he put us in the right protections. He had one missed assignment as far as protection goes, but he had a lot of poise to him and he played like he practiced."
Using a "cone" technique, Hannon delivered snaps to senior quarterback
Taylor Lamb without putting the ball on the ground.
Instead of pressing a thumb against the high side of a ball that's leaning forward and wrapping other fingers around the other side, App State's centers have been snapping with a grip in which their palm is over the raised nose of a ball pointed backward and their fingers go down the sides. Lamb has said it's easier to move his fingers to the correct throwing grip on a "cone" snap that acts more like a knuckleball and stays on more of an accurate, direct line to the quarterback.
Hannon, who played center as a Greer (S.C.) High School freshman, spent his final three years as an offensive tackle and was named a finalist for South Carolina's Mr. Football award as a senior. He was recruited primarily as a center, the position he played in the Shrine Bowl, and he snapped successfully with the "cone" technique in that game after learning it from his high school coach.
Before and after executing his snaps last weekend, Hannon was responsible for organizing line calls and blocking Georgia's interior defenders. All three of the Bulldogs' starting defensive linemen were 6-4, and two of them weighed more than 300 pounds.
"All the snaps were right where they needed to be," App State head coach
Scott Satterfield said. "He really had a good game. He got overmatched at times throughout the game because he's not as strong as some of those guys, but I thought he was very, very solid."
Georgia recorded one sack of Lamb, and App State rushed for 136 yards on 32 official carries.
With Savannah State next on the schedule, Hannon said he has worked this week on turning more of his lateral movement into forward momentum.
"The first game, it's your first bit of film on tape, the first part of my resume that I can start building as far as my college career goes," Hannon said. "Obviously there were some good things there and some things I can improve on. As the season goes on, I take the things I need to improve on and what we need to improve on as a team, as a unit up front, and we'll work toward that."
